The Sacred Heart/Our Lady Help of Christians Collaborative is committed to being a living Gospel to all those we meet.

We strive to encounter Christ, respond in love, and share the Good News of our faith for the realization of God's Kingdom. 

If you are new to this site and to our collaborative, welcome! If you are a long time parishioner, welcome back! We hope you find what you are searching for. 

Fr. John's Easter Homily from 2013: Click to read

Update: Good Friday, April 19, 2019 - 12:00pm
Fr. John is still with us, with his family by his side. Please continue to pray for him. May his suffering be united to Christ's on this Good Friday.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Dear Sacred Heart and Our Lady's Community,

Today we have learned from his family that Fr. John has suffered a severe stroke as a result of his disease, and it is very likely that he will return to God our Father in heaven very soon. 

Please pray for Fr. John; his life has brought Christ's light into this world and to our collaborative family. Please pray for his family as well.

Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers in a special way during this time and throughout this Holy Week.

Sincerely,
The Collaborative Staff

(To read our announcement of March 9, please follow this link.)

Fr. John Sassani has been such a gift to our community of faith for so many years. As a way of celebrating all that he has shared with us, we invite you to submit your special memories of him.

Did Fr. John baptize your child? Marry you and your spouse? Celebrate Mass for your child’s First Communion? Did he provide consolation at the loss of a loved one or counsel you through a difficult situation or crisis of faith? Did Fr. John preach a homily that deeply enriched your relationship with Christ? Did he lead you through your Cursillo weekend or guide you in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius?

The pastoral staff are working on compiling photos, stories, anecdotes, and so on of Fr. John’s impact on our lives— memories that you and your family cherish. This gift will be given to Fr. John in the coming months. We will also put together a smaller selection of photos and stories to be shared with our entire community. Send your photos and stories to Kristina at kpreman@sholnewton.org or to her attention at Our Lady’s, 573 Washington St, Newton 02458. If you have a printed photo and would like to keep the original, please call Kristina so that she can digitally scan and return your photo. Deadline for all submissions is Friday, April 26, and we would love to hear from adults and children alike!

In addition, we have note cards available in the back of the churches, through the next several weeks. After writing your thoughts, please place in the basket provided. You may also write a note at home and bring it to Mass, placing it in this basket.                                                             
---If you seal your note in an envelope, it will go directly and privately to Fr. John.
---If you leave your note out of an envelope or do not seal it, we will assume you are willing to have it shared publicly with our community.
 
Thank you for your participation and for your continued prayers for Fr. John!
 
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of Fr. John in our lives. As he moves into this next phase of his life’s journey, we ask that You give him the grace always to be aware of Your presence at his side. May he always know the peace and joy that only You can give. We ask You also to bless his family and all who care for him. In Your name we pray. Amen.

Please Note: Both Parish Offices will be CLOSED on 

Friday, April 19 (Good Friday)
Monday, April 22 (Easter Monday)

They will reopen on Tuesday, April 23.

FOR THE 2019 Lent & Easter Schedule of Activities and Services for the SHOL Collaborative click HERE

Some Highlights Include:

Faith Sharing
Six-week Lenten sessions begin the week of March 4th. Weekday morning, afternoon, evening sessions, plus weekend options. Lent is a great time to join a group! Full details and schedule are HERE

The Light Is On For You 
Spend some time in prayer before Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesday evenings in Lent beginning March 13. Join us for sung Taize prayer, Adoration, and the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

We are blessed in our Collaborative with wonderful priests. Msgr. Dennis has been with us for many years and has given many excellent homilies. Some of them can now be found here online (and in the bulletin on many Sundays).

We will post a new one each week - one that was given sometime in the last 20 years but will correspond to the current year's Sunday readings.

You can find them at this link.

Want to know what's going on in the collaborative? Sign-up for the Weekend Update emails, and get the four most important things to know each Friday morning. To register, fill out our online form at sholnewton.org/weekendupdate

Dear Parishioners,
Please see the following statements:
---March 6, 2019 - Letter from Cardinal Sean on the Implementation of a New Reporting System
---February 12, 2019 - Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Massachusetts
---August 23, 2018 - Statement of the Collaborative's Pastoral Associates
---August 20, 2018 - Letter from Pope Francis
---August 16, 2018 - Statement of Cardinal Sean O'Malley
---Prayer for Those Suffering

To be in touch with any staff person, see sholnewton.org/staff

If you would like to view the video above with captions in English or Spanish, click the CC button at the bottom of the video.

- Our Lady Help of Christians -


- Sacred Heart -